Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126284
(Continued/rom page 10) At the end of 12 races Mike Bast, Steve Bast, and Bruce Penhall were locked in a three-way tie for the title. Penhall and Steve Bast finally met up with each other in event .I S. After a neck and neck battle that fans wished had last ed longer than the 'h a lf· lap it did. Penhall shot in to the lead and ran off with the win , putting him just hat much closer to his ever-elusive first National title. Mike Bast won his next event , after allowing Mark Cherry to lead for .two circles around the short oval, and the stage was set again ,- exactly as it had been last year, for Penhall and Bast in the final championship go ·for- it. So it came as no surprise to the jampacked stadium, as anxious loyal ists nervously nibbled their nails , th a t these sam e two top contenders for th e title rolled up to the starting gate under the same circumstances as the year before. Here they were, meeting again for a replay a year-later. Some things never change. Maximum effort and total concentration on the task at hand had put Mike Bast into the winner's circle fo u r times previously in his . professional. career. It paid off again as the gate 'slam m ed up and he jam m ed int o the first comer, high on the outside , right smack in the middle of Penhall's usual cu shiony groove. Penhall, unfortunately, got his worst sta rt off th e line all evening - a mist ake · that prob ably cost him th e titl e for 197 8. It didn't-take much for him to get around Fishback and Sims , . but Bast was too far gone, joyriding, for it to make much di ffer ence. At th e en d ·of fou r all-too-ea sy lap s, a jubilant Mike Bast had kept his U .S. Nation al title for ano ther year. Visib ly disappointed over the loss, Penhall was not yet fin ished for the eveni ng. H e was still tied with Steve Bast for second place and : much to his d isp leasure, th e two were matched up for a four lap , tie-b re aker runoff . Penhall:d rew th e pole pos iti on on th.e sta rt and hit hard for the holesb ot. Homing in on th e third lap . Bast misjudged his position coming out of tu rn four and as he attempted to ent er th e short fin ish stra igh t , he hit the wall almost directly in front of Larry Huffman's announcing stand. At that point Penhall had won the race . but it didn't seem to make much difference to h im - "he hadn't com e to race for seco nd place. • (Top) Most of the riders had fan clubs. (Above left! Mike Bast leads Penhall in the final race. (left) Fourth-place Alan Christian gets crazy. (AboveI Bast holeshot race eight. which he won over Christian. (Below) Mike Faria !inside) got the jump on Mike Bast (outside) and then held Bast off to the checkered Mike's only defeat of the night. (Bottom) Periodic fuel checks were held to make sure the riders were using legal motion lotion. FINAL RESULTS: M ike B8S1 14. Bruce· Penhall 13. Steve BllS1 13. Alan Christian 10. Mike Faria 9. Larry Shaw B. Kelly Moran 8. Ron Preston 7, Bob Schwartz 7, Dennis Sigalos 6, Steve Columbo 5, Mike Muntea n 5, Scott Sivadg e 5, Dave Sims 4, Mark.Cherry 4, Jim ,Fl8hback 3. cu.s. - GNatiollal Speedway- Champiollsltip EVENT NO. 1 ~ • NJKE FARIA J4 • SC'OlT $NA-DGE • :s . MIKE -'Il'I'fTEAN - 1· MIKE BAST EVENT NO.5 131• KEllY MORAN 1N • MIKE FARJA m . J IM FlSH BACK 1 . MARK CHERRY - EVENT NO 9 JO • DENNIS SICALOS 12 • STEVE f,'0 LUM SO r.; 2N . M IKE FARI A .. . DAVE SIMS - EVENT NO. 13 b • STEVE BAST _ . ,-., - .- EVENT NO.2 :3 27$ • JIM FISHBACK I II · STEVE BAST 1/1 JO • DE,.,.,. rs SIGALOS 28 • ALAN CHRlsnAN EVENT NO.6 3 45 . BRUCE PENHAll ':I. S . LAR RY SHA W J4 • SCOTT SlYA[)(iE I JO . DENNIS SIGA-lOS I" EVENT NO 10 55 • ROf"l PRESTON I 275 · JIM FISHBACK 0 1'1 1211 · BOB SCHWARTZ _ .. J4 • SCOTT SIV"DGf EVENT No . 14 Z 55 • RON P MESTON 0 4S • BRUC E P EN lt ALL J.( • 3 2N • MI K E FAMIA - EVENT NO 17 2 N _ MIK E FAR IA 2a • ALAN CH RlSTlA N